Penn's Wesley Harper wins South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week vote, Feb. 5-11, 2024
In what ended up being a close vote between two Penn athletes, senior wrestler Wesley Harper edged senior swimmer Lily Christianson for the South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week vote for Feb. 5-11, 2024.
Harper and Christianson combined for 63% of the vote, with Harper getting 33% and Christianson 30%.
Here is more on the accomplishments of those two, plus the other six nominees from this week.
WINNER: Penn wrestling senior Wesley Harper
Harper was a semistate champion in the 150-pound weight class at East Chicago, improving his record to 33-2 on the season. He won the title match by a 7-5 sudden victory over Munster's Christopher Bohn.
RUNNER-UP: Penn girls swimming senior Lily Christianson
Christianson solidified herself as one of the best swimmers in area history Saturday, winning state championships in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle races to give her six state titles for her career. She set a new state record time in the 50, winning with a time of 21.72 seconds.
OTHER NOMINEES
Bremen girls basketball junior Kila Foster
Foster hit the go-ahead shot with 2:04 remaining to lift the Lions to a 41-37 victory over Hanover Central in a 3A regional championship game. Foster finished the game with 12 points. It was the first regional title for Bremen since 1986.
Marquette Catholic girls basketball sophomore Laniah Davis
Davis scored 21 of her team-high 25 points in the second half, leading the 54-43 comeback win for the Blazers over Morgan Township in a 1A regional championship game.
Mishawaka wrestling senior Zar Walker
Walker reigned as the 144-pound champion at the East Chicago semistate Saturday, including an upset victory over previously-unbeaten Jeffrey Huyvaert from New Prairie in the championship match. Walker carries a 43-1 record into this week's state tournament.
Northridge wrestling sophomore Travis Henke
Henke was the lone area champion at the Fort Wayne semistate, winning the 215-pound championship. He beat Bellmont’s Keagan Martin, 3-1, in the finals to improve his record to 40-1 on the season.
NorthWood girls basketball junior Claire Payne
Payne came up big for the Panthers, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a 54-41 win over New Prairie in a 3A regional championship game Saturday.
South Bend Clay boys basketball sophomore Tyrese Jones
Jones had two strong performances this week, scoring 36 points in a win over Career Academy Tuesday and 30 in a victory over Elkhart Friday night.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn's Wesley Harper wins South Bend Tribune Athlete of the Week vote
